116th Pennsylvania – Irish in the American Civil Warhttps://irishamericancivilwar.com
Exploring Irish Emigration in the 19th Century United StatesWed, 23 May 2018 20:14:52 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6https://irishamericancivilwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cropped-Family-90x90.jpg116th Pennsylvania – Irish in the American Civil Warhttps://irishamericancivilwar.com
3232133117992Analysing 19th Century Emigration, A Case Study: Dissecting One Irishman's Letter Homehttps://irishamericancivilwar.com/2015/12/20/analysing-19th-century-emigration-a-case-study-dissecting-one-irishmans-letter-home/
https://irishamericancivilwar.com/2015/12/20/analysing-19th-century-emigration-a-case-study-dissecting-one-irishmans-letter-home/#commentsSun, 20 Dec 2015 15:45:04 +0000https://irishamericancivilwar.com/?p=9237As regular readers are aware, I have long been an advocate of the need to study the thousands of Irish-American letters contained within the Civil War Widows & Dependent Pension Files. This unique resource offers insights into 19th Century Irish emigration that do not exist anywhere else. Their value to Irish, as well as American, history...

]]>As regular readers are aware, I have long been an advocate of the need to study the thousands of Irish-American letters contained within the Civil War Widows & Dependent Pension Files. This unique resource offers insights into 19th Century Irish emigration that do not exist anywhere else. Their value to Irish, as well as American, history reaches far beyond our understanding of the Irish experience of the conflict itself. They have much to tell us about multiple facets of Irish life, both in Ireland and America. In order to demonstrate this potential, I have broken down one Irish letter into its component parts, in an effort to highlight just how invaluable these primary sources can be for those interested in Irish emigrants.

The envelope which contained Peter Finegan’s letter to his parents, which is analysed below (Fold3.com/NARA)

On 13th December 1862, 21 year-old immigrant Private Peter Finegan of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, Irish Brigade, marched out of the town of Fredericksburg and towards Marye’s Heights. What happened to the regiment next is well documented. It was Peter’s first battle, and we are left to ponder what went through his mind as he advanced through the deadly blizzard of fire that engulfed him. It seems probable he made it past the long-range artillery fire that first gouged red trails of savagery through the Brigade’s ranks, but he was not so lucky when it came to the Rebel infantry. As the Northerners advanced, the Confederates behind the stone wall rose to pour a curtain of lead into their foe. Peter’s Captain remembered seeing the young Irishman being struck four times by bullets, inflicting wounds which ended his life. Just over 10 weeks before his death, Peter had written to his parents from his base in Fairfax Court House. In 1866, in an effort to secure a pension based on their son’s service, Peter’s mother and father included that letter in their application, where it has remained in their file ever since. (1)

Head quarters 116 Reg P. V.

Camp Bardwell, Sep 29th 1862

Dear Father & Mother

I Rec’d your kind and welcome letter about a week ago which gave me much pleasure to hear from you and I would have wrote before this only waiting for the Captain to come from the City of Philadelphia with the money so to day I send you’s $40 dollars by Adams Express Company as soon as you receive the money write to me without delay and let me know for I have the receipt for it and if you dont get it they will have it to pay when you get this letter go right away to Charles Hughes and you will get the money I’m sorry I could not send it sooner for I think by the times you were in need of it and you’s will never want while I can get any thing to help you’s along only dont be worrying yourselves about me I am all right thank God. (2)

This first element of Peter’s letter follows the general norms of what we expect from Irish letters of this period. By far the most common form sees the writer express a wish that those at home are in good health, before then stating that they themselves are well, e.g.: ‘I hope this letter finds you well as this leaves me at present thanks be to God.’ The letter immediately contains the detail which led to its inclusion in the pension application– a reference to $40 Peter was sending by Adams Express, thereby proving (as was required by the Pension Bureau) that he financially supported his parents. The Adams Express Company played a vital role for all troops at the front, and it is frequently referenced in their letters. Another common sentiment expressed in soldier’s letters is for family not to worry themselves about their welfare, and also of their determination to provide for their dependents. (3)

I was at the Holy Sacrifice of Mass this morning it was read in Camp and I think we will have mass every morning now from this out. He hears confessions every night so it gives us all a chance to go and he says he will be with us on the Battle Field so that is a great consolation to us… (4)

The letter continues with reference to Peter’s Catholic religion, which was clearly important to him and his family. Many Irish soldier’s correspondence carry references to the importance of their faith, with family often sending scapulars for the men to wear. Those Catholic Irish troops in designated Irish regiments, such as the 116th Pennsylvania, generally had significantly better access to Catholic chaplains than those that served in non-ethnic units. (5)

…so Father & Mother the only thing I as[k] of you both is not to worry about me I know I done wrong in leaving you both at the ending of your days but I hope you will forgive me and with the help of God I hope I will live to see yous in your little Home together once more and then I will take some of your advice but there is no use crying about spilt milk… (6)

Peter clearly felt guilty at leaving his parents alone in Pennsylvania. He felt this way due to a factor common among even large emigrant families– Peter was his mother and father’s main support in their old age. Particularly for those reliant on unskilled labouring, illness and infirmity posed the greatest threats to their ability to support themselves. Peter’s father, Peter Senior, had been a day-laborer, but in 1861 feebleness brought on by age (he was then in his late 60s) meant he couldn’t find work. This left Peter Senior and his wife Mary facing the very real prospect of destitution. With no property, and personal belongings valued only at $50, they needed another source of income. Today we would be surprised that this might have been the case, given that Peter Senior and Mary had six living adult children. Apart from Peter, the couple had two other sons and three daughters. Why did they not provide more assistance? The obligation fell on Peter not because his siblings were unprepared to help their parents, but because they were unable to afford it. All of them were married with families of their own; for many poorer emigrants, responsibilities to spouses and children often left nothing for ageing parents. In extreme cases older people could find themselves reliant on public charity, despite having a number of living children. Peter’s parents were spared this fate prior to 1862, as their unmarried son continued to live with them (seemingly along with their grandson), bringing in $6 a week between 1859 and 1862 by driving a wagon for a local business and using his earnings to buy food and fuel for them. (7)

…you’s can tell Miles wife that I want to know in the next letter if she lives in the same place yet for I will write to her and whoever writes letters for yous I dont want such talking about affairs as was in the other I know wright from wrong so its no use talking about it now Ive got enough to tend to although I can get anything I want from the men because I play the fiddle for them at night and we have plenty of fun Joe Benn’s son from Phila is out here in the same Regiment with me… (8)

Here Peter makes direct reference to another reality for the majority of 19th century Irish emigrants– the fact that many were illiterate. However, illiteracy did not prevent written communication. Hundreds of thousands of letters where both sender and recipient were illiterate travelled between Irish communities in the United States, and between Irish emigrants in America and those at home in Ireland. This was facilitated by the use of intermediaries who would both write letters that were dictated to them and read out letters that were received. These intermediaries were often other family members or neighbours, and in the case of soldiers literate men within the Company. One implication of this was that these 19th century letters represented a more communal experience than we associate with modern written correspondence. In the recent past (at least prior to the digital age) letter writing often carried it with it an implicit understanding of being a largely private communication between two individuals. But this only became possible when literacy reached levels which allowed the majority of people to correspond directly. For letters like that of Peter Finegan and the bulk of other 19th century Irish emigrants, we must instead imagine the letter as a more public experience, with the words being read out in front of a number of friends and family members. The degree of trust which had to be placed in the intermediary charged with writing/reading these letters was also important, particularly when they were non-family members dealing with potentially sensitive issues. In the above passage this was clearly a concern for Peter, as he asked his parents not to discuss personal affairs when he didn’t know who was writing their letters for them (it seems from the correspondence that Peter’s parents were also extremely concerned about his well-being having enlisted). (9)

A further element in this passage refers to the popularity Peter enjoyed within the ranks due to his ability to play the fiddle, highlighting the importance of music among members of the Irish community (and indeed American society in general). Interestingly Peter also implies that his ability to play the instrument conferred on him economic benefit from those around him: ‘I can get anything I want from the men,’ demonstrating that such a skill could provide valuable supplementary benefits for those able to master it. (10)

…when you’s write to me let me know how Terence is getting along and wife and family and all the other Finegan’s as their is so many of them I have not time to mention all as I have to go on Guard at 12 O’Clock tell O’Neills to send me Johny’s directions in this letter so I can write to him let me know how Joe Sanders is getting along if he wants ditching their is plenty of it down in old Virginia to be done we are stationed at Fair Fax Court House where their was a great many hard battles fought As for William Kerns family I suppose their alone poor folks Willie Kerns wrote a letter to Tom O’Brian and he did not think worth while to mention me in it so it is the same on this side let me know how James O’Neill and wife and also the old couple and Bridget Dunleavy and family Mrs Harley and Mrs McNamara [?] and Burns family and Miles not forgetting old uncle Barney Rose Ann Mary and all…(11)

Practically all the many hundreds of letters I have read from Irish emigrants in the 1850s and 1860s conclude with a similar roll-call of requests, seeking to discover how local friends and family were faring, and often requesting that best wishes be sent to an array of individuals. Despite appearances, this was more than simply perfunctory; many letters indicate that there was an obligation to ask after certain friends and relations. This can be seen in letters which express apologies for omitting individuals from the list, and also in examples such as this from Peter, where he has clearly taken offence at not having been mentioned in a letter written by Willie Kerns to Tom O’Brian. Clearly insulted, he says ‘so it is the same on this side’ as he explicitly does not want to know how Willie is getting on. In putting this in the letter, it is apparent that Peter intends for Willie Kerns to hear that he was angered at being omitted. Such a degree of chagrin at not being included in a letter’s acknowledgements is far from uncommon in Irish emigrant letters. (12)

The passage also sees Peter refer directly to other members of his family, of which there were ‘so many’ in the community where he lived. That community was Chester County, Pennsylvania, most specifically the town of West Chester, where there were indeed ‘many’ Finnegans. Aside from Peter and his parents, the 1860 Census records his relations Terence (39), a day-laborer with his wife Catharine and their six children (Real Estate: $0, Personal Estate: $50); Patrick (30), a day-laborer with his wife Bridget and their three children (Real Estate: $800, Personal Estate: $300); Michael (29), a day laborer with his wife Alice and their three children (Real Estate: $700, Personal Estate: $50); and James (28), a merchant with his wife Mary and daughter (Real Estate: $3700, Personal Estate: $3000). In addition Peter’s uncle Barney (35) lived in nearby West Bradford, where he made his living as a farmer with his wife Catherine and their three children (Real Estate: $3000, Personal Estate: $200). Another potential relative Peter (28) lived in Phoenixville with his wife Bridget and their two children (Real Estate: $0, Personal Estate: $50). It is unfortunately not possible to identify many of the female Finnegans with certainty in the 1860 Census due to the adoption of their husband’s surnames, but many undoubtedly also lived in the area. In every single instance cited above both parents had been born in Ireland, while all the children had been born in Pennsylvania. The Finnegans represent a classic case of chain migration, which saw members of one family (or local community) emigrate to the same area over time, usually following in the footsteps of relatives who had blazed the trail, in this instance to Chester County. As can be seen from the estates that some of the Finnegans possessed in 1860– namely James, the West Chester merchant and Barney, the West Bradford farmer– a number of them had already made a success of life in America. Escaping life as a day-laborer appeared to be the key to developing an increased quality of life, as the 1850 Census records both James and Barney prior to their success, working as laborers in West Chester. (13)

So it seems likely that Peter Finnerty and his family settled in West Chester because they already had family there. But what drove them to leave? The potential answer lies in the date of their arrival in the United States. The records suggest that they are the Finnerty family which arrived in Philadelphia aboard the packet ship Saranak from Liverpool on 18th May 1847. The family do not appear to have been the only Finnertys aboard. The manifest lists 45-year-old laborer Peter Finegan, his wife ‘Mrs. Finnegan’, 16-year-old Judith, 16-year-old Matthew, 12-year-old Rose, 8-year-old Mary, 6-year-old Peter (almost certainly the author of this letter, who died at Fredericksburg), 20-year-old Patrick, 18-year-old Mary, 15-year-old Peggy and 19-year-old Michael. It is probably no coincidence that they all arrived in America at the height of the Great Irish Famine, and it is also very likely they knew they were going to West Chester before they left Ireland. The 1850 Census records Peter living with his parents in the town at that date, and most of the other Finnegans were already in place at that date. (14)

Aside from the Finnegans mentioned in Peter’s letter, the other named individuals also serve to provide us with an insight into Irish life in America. The overwhelming majority of them were Irish-born, indicating that the Irish in West Chester formed a distinct close-knit community in this period. The Willie Kerns who Peter chastised in his letter was Pennsylvania-born, but his father William (a day-laborer) and mother Mary were of Irish birth; Tom O’Brian was a Pennsylvania-born clerk, but lived and worked with Peter’s merchant relation James Finnegan; all the James O’Neills recorded in West Chester in 1860 were Irish-born; the Dunleavys were Irish-born; Mrs. Harley was the wife of Peter’s one time employer, who were Irish-born emigrants with a carpet-weaving and bottling business. Ancestry.com lists 4,757 people as having been recorded on the 1860 Census in West Chester. Slightly over 10% of them, some 480 people, were recorded as being born in Ireland, far outnumbering any other emigrant group in the town. It is likely that the addition of the American-born children of Irish emigrants to this number would at least double this overall percentage, making the Irish community of West Chester a very significant minority. (15)

…no more at present but remains your son Peter Finegan

I am the same Pete as I always was and will be till I get shot at missed [?]–

The final section of Peter’s letter again hints at the concern his parents expressed at him joining the army. He felt it necessary to reassure them that he was the same person he had always been. Perhaps his parents were not strong supporters of the war, and there is at least a suggestion that they were worried the experience of conflict might change their son. They never did have the chance to find out, as after only three and a half months the four Rebel bullets that buried themselves in Peter’s body on Marye’s Heights ended his life. Today the letter that he left behind from the war that claimed his life, along with those of thousands of other doomed Irish-Americans, offer us a unique opportunity to examine the experiences of those who left Ireland in the greatest emigrant wave ever to depart these shores.

* None of my work on pensions would be possible without the exceptional effort currently taking place in the National Archives to digitize this material and make it available online via Fold3. A team from NARA supported by volunteers are consistently adding to this treasure trove of historical information. To learn more about their work you can watch a video by clicking here.

]]>https://irishamericancivilwar.com/2015/12/20/analysing-19th-century-emigration-a-case-study-dissecting-one-irishmans-letter-home/feed/189237'You Put Your Arm Around My Neck and Kissed Me': Sex, Love & Duty in the Letters of an Irish Brigade Soldierhttps://irishamericancivilwar.com/2015/07/20/you-put-your-arm-around-my-neck-and-kissed-me-sex-love-duty-in-the-letters-of-an-irish-brigade-soldier/
Mon, 20 Jul 2015 21:18:46 +0000https://irishamericancivilwar.com/?p=8255Letters included in the pension file often contain some very personal information. Surely few match those written by the Irish Brigade’s Samuel Pearce to his wife Margaret. The correspondence details not only the railroad man’s initial efforts to avoid the draft and use of an alias, but also provides a unique and intimate insight into...

]]>Letters included in the pension file often contain some very personal information. Surely few match those written by the Irish Brigade’s Samuel Pearce to his wife Margaret. The correspondence details not only the railroad man’s initial efforts to avoid the draft and use of an alias, but also provides a unique and intimate insight into the couple’s relationship. Samuel candidly discusses his concern for Margaret as she is about to go into labour, fondly recalls his love for her through memories of their first child’s birth, and expresses his disappointment at how she treated him on a visit home. Unusually, he also openly discusses their sex life. Readers should note that the final letter in the sequence contains language and content that some may find offensive. (1)

1864 Advertisement for the Baltimore & Ohio (Wikipedia)

Samuel Pearce worked on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad when he met Margaret McDonald around the year 1857. The couple were married in the English Lutheran Church of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on 9th October 1859; their first child– William– was born on 2nd October 1860. Samuel did not rush to volunteer at the start of the war. Instead he stayed with what he knew, working under the direction of the U.S. Military Railroads commander, Herman Haupt. It was late 1863 when he wrote the first letter below to his wife. She was due to give birth to their second child at any moment, and Samuel was anxious for her wellbeing. Denied a furlough to go home, Samuel’s worries were exacerbated by news that his name had been drawn in the draft. Hopeful that the railroad authorities would secure an exemption for him, he nonetheless cautioned Margaret not to mention it to the neighbours.

Forgive me for not writing sooner

Sept the 5 1863

Dere Wife

I received your letter on last Tuesday and was very glad that you was still well but I wood feele a great [d]eal better if you ware over your truble and well again and then I wood be contented but now I cant rest at night for thinking about you I think that I can see you laying in bed sick as the night that you had Willia[m] when I com in the roome and stood in front of the bed and you put your arm around my neck and kissed me I shall never forget that time but I hope by the time you receive this you will be over the worst of your trubl and not have as hard a time as when you had Willia[m] and when I get home again I will hug and kiss you for to make up for the last time when I was home But if you get it very sick let me know at once I am still running at night I have not been very well for the last week but I feele a great [d]eal better I did not work for 4 days and I wanted to get a furlow for a five days but thay wood not give me one the superentendent told me that he wanted all of his men that has been drafted to stay at work with him that thare wont be any truble about it if thare is any truble at home about it let me know and I will get a letter frome him dont say anything to the nabors about this if thay ask you tell Genl Haupt has made arrangement with the sectary of war to leve us ware we are for the me[n] on the RR is getting very scarce since the Draft give my best respct to all of my old frends and kiss William for me and I will return it to you again if I can get a place for you in town to stay awile after you get right well again I want you to com down for it wont cost as much for you to come here as it [is] close for me to com home I will bring my letter to a [close] but remane your effectant Husband S.H. Pearce

As it was, Margaret had given birth three days before Samuel had written the letter. The couple’s second son John had arrived on 2nd September 1863. The next letter in the file is written some 6 months later, on 29th March 1864. By now Samuel’s circumstances had changed considerably. He was in Alexandria, Virginia, a newly recruited member of the 116th Pennsylvania Regiment, Irish Brigade (he had mustered in four days before). His railroad employment had not in the end provided an exemption; arrested by the Provost Marshal, Samuel was allowed his freedom only on the condition that he would enlist. This letter was the first news that Margaret received of his new profession. Samuel wrote home that his enlistment didn’t really matter anyway, as he felt his wife did not think much of him.

march the 29

Deare Wife

I take the presant opportunity of writing you a few lines I am well at presant and hope this will find you and the children the same I supose it will not be very pleasant for you to here whare I am at presant but thay got me at last I was running on the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne Road and some body found out whare I was and I was arested and the prov[ost] marshall said if I wood enlist in som Penn Reightiment he wood let me go and I thaught that wood be the best thing I could do for I could not com home any how and I was all the time in truble and now thay cant arest me again so I will try it as will for if I did not go now I wood of have to gone some time and I think this is the best time now for thare will [be] a very large army this Spring thare is no end to the troups coming in I joined the 116 Penn R Comp I our Company is doing gard duty at Alexandria I dont know when we will joine the Reightiment I got $300 local bounty and will get $300 more government bounty if I stay long enough I sent you 2.75 dollars by exppress I kept 25 for I had to buy some things when you go for the money as for a bundle for I sent my overcoat and pants home donts wory your self about me for I am not much acount to you any haw I have no more to write this time when you write direckt your letter to Samuel Price Company I 116 Pennsly Volenteers Alexandria Va

Yours Truly

S. H. Pearce

Write as soon as you get this and tell me wether you got the money and bundle

I will write before wee leve Alexandria (3)

A Soldier’s dream of Home (Library of Congress)

Just over a week later Samuel was writing home again. The final letter in the file was clearly penned in reply to Margaret’s response to the previous correspondence. She had not taken the enlistment well and had done nothing but cry since his letter had arrived. Samuel sought to reassure her that he was relatively safe in the pioneer corps, and expressed a hope that if he could get through the summer he would get back to the railroad. He elaborated on his comments of the previous letter (and clearly is also addressing Margaret’s response in which she said she was faithful to him) by explaining how they arose because of the way Margaret treated him when he was last home– a passage which includes unusually explicit references to their sex life. Despite his unhappiness, Samuel reiterated his love for her; he closes by telling Margaret that he had enlisted under the name ‘Price’ instead of ‘Pearce’ to secure the bounty money– he was worried that if he didn’t use an alias the fact that he was drafted might deny it to him.

Camp near Culppeper

April the 8

Dere Wife

I received your letter yesterday and was glad to here that you was well but am sory that you take it so hard about me but try and content your self for the summer and then I will try and get detailed on the R. R. I dont think that I am in much danger for I was detailed out of the Company on monday and put in the Pinere Corps so I wont have any fighting to do as long as I am with it you speak of being true to me I never thaught any thing els of you for I know that you dont like fuckn very well and I dont think that you want any other man to do it for you for I think I alwaise gave you as much as you wanted but I think you apeard very coull [cool] towards me when I was home for I thaught you thaught more of your neabors than you did of me or else you wood [have] stayed up stairs with me more then you did when I asked you to wash my blouse you growld about it and you left me go away [with] dirty draws and stockings I thaught the way you apeared that you did not care wither I went away or not that is all the falt ever I found of you for I love you and all ways thaught that you might of been a little more loving to me when I cam home for it was not often that I cam hom to see you you say you don nothing but cry since you received my letter I have don the same thing about you for thare is hardley a minit that passes over but I think of you and what you wood do if I was kiled but if the war dont wind up this summer I think I can get out of it next winter so keep in good hart and I will do the hest I can and will write when ever I can get a chance we have a good [d]eal of work to do around camp building houses for the officers the resan that I told you to direckt to Price is that I inlisted in that name for I was afraid that thay might find out in the Regihtment that I was drafted and then I wood not get any bounty so when you write direckt Samuel P. Price Company I 116 R P. Volenteers Alexandria Va I wish you wood get me 2 woolen shirts of some kind for I cant ware the government shirts get something that wont shrink and get me 2 0r 3 pair of cottan stockings and some smoking tobacco and send them to me as soon as you can no more at presant but rmane your effectant Husgend S. H. Pearse

write soon

Dont forget and direct any letter to S. H. Price (4)

Samuel Pearce did not stay in the pioneer corps. Two months later he was in the ranks of the 116th Pennsylvania when they found themselves caught in a withering fire during the Battle of Cold Harbor on 3rd June 1864. Struck in the lower left thigh by a bullet, he was carried from the field and ultimately to the 3rd Division Hospital in Alexandria. He died there of septicemia on 12th July. Samuel was buried in Alexandria National Cemetery, where he rests in Plot 2934– his headstone bears the alias under which he enlisted.

Despite their extremely personal content, Margaret handed these letters to the pension bureau, as their reference to Samuel’s alias provided evidence that established her as the rightful widow of ‘Samuel Price’. She received a pension for only a short period; her marriage to James Rementer in 1866 saw her lose her entitlement to it. Although her firstborn son William did not survive, her second son John did, joining three half-siblings by Margaret’s second marriage. John, whose imminent birth Samuel wrote of in 1863, would later say regarding him: ‘I do not remember my father. I understood that he was shot at Cold Harbor and died in the hospital from the effects of the wound. I was raised by my mother until I was grown…She re-married James Rementer. I grew up to consider him my father.’ Widowed for a second time in 1876, Margaret did not seek to reactivate her pension until 1911. She passed away at the Philadelphia Home for Veterans of the G.A.R. and Wives in Philadelphia on 3rd December 1924– fully sixty years after her first husband. (5)

Alexandria National Cemetery (Alexander Herring)

* None of my work on pensions would be possible without the exceptional effort currently taking place in the National Archives to digitize this material and make it available online via Fold3. A team from NARA supported by volunteers are consistently adding to this treasure trove of historical information. To learn more about their work you can watch a video by clicking here.

]]>8255Illustrations of the Irish Brigade at Fredericksburghttps://irishamericancivilwar.com/2011/11/27/illustrations-of-the-irish-brigade-at-fredericksburg/
Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:30:59 +0000https://irishamericancivilwar.com/?p=3360Private William McCarter of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, Irish Brigade, is best known for his memoirs My Life in the Irish Brigade. The Irishman’s account of the Battle of Fredericksburg, in which he was wounded, is amongst the most vivid of that engagement (for an account of the 116th Pennsylvania’s experiences on that day see...

]]>Private William McCarter of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, Irish Brigade, is best known for his memoirs My Life in the Irish Brigade. The Irishman’s account of the Battle of Fredericksburg, in which he was wounded, is amongst the most vivid of that engagement (for an account of the 116th Pennsylvania’s experiences on that day see a previous post here). McCarter also told the story of the brigade’s fateful charge in the July 29th 1886 edition of The National Tribune. The piece was illustrated by the paper’s artist ‘Klem’, and includes a number of portrayals of the Irishmen on the day of battle that may be of interest to readers.

Officers distributing the green boxwood sprigs to the Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg (Klem, The National Tribune)

All the regiments of the brigade are now in line on Sophia street (the first street running parallel to the river), anxiously awaiting further orders. The enemy’s shells are flying thick, dropping and exploding in every part of the city with telling effect among our troops. Gen. Meagher again rides up, this time accompanied by two Orderlies carrying quantities of green boxwood. By his orders each officer is handed a bunch, with the request to present to each man in the ranks a green sprig to place on his cap before going into battle, as an emblem of the Emerald Isle. Few, perhaps none, of the surviving members of the brigade kept, or thought of preserving, the little green sprig; but the one given to myself I can show to-day, or rather the remains of it, sealed up in a bottle, as a relic of that bloody day.

One of the Irish Brigade, replete with boxwood sprig (Klem, The National Tribune)

The Irish Brigade advance on Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg (Klem, The National Tribune)

It was now evident that this assault, like the preceding one, would be a failure; yet our shattered and bleeding ranks held their ground, determined to fight to the last. Our cause was just, and “Irish blood was up.”

Private McCarter wounded on the field at Fredericksburg (Klem, The National Tribune)

Next came my own turn. When in the act of ramming another cartridge home, to send it where I had sent several others- into the ranks of Cobb’s brigade, a ball struck me in the right arm near the shoulder. A stream of warm blood rushed out of the wound, saturating my clothing down to my feet, the shattered arm dropping powerless by my side, and my musket on the ground. Dizziness and partial loss of sight followed, and I fell unconcious on the field, while my more fortunate comrades as yet continued to blaze away at the foe.

References & Further Reading

McCarter William 1886. ‘Fredericksburg: As Seen by One of Meagher’s Brigade’ in The National Tribune July 29th 1886.

McCarter, William (edited by Kevin E. O’Brien) 2003. My Life in the Irish Brigade: The Civil War Memoirs of Private William McCarter, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry

]]>3360'Simply Madness to Advance': The 116th Pennsylvania at Fredericksburghttps://irishamericancivilwar.com/2010/12/14/simply-madness-to-advance-the-116th-pennsylvania-at-fredericksburg/
Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:54:41 +0000http://irishamericancivilwar.wordpress.com/?p=1421It was just past 9am on 13th December 1862 when Private William Dehaven of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry was given the order to fall in with the men of his regiment. He and the rest of the Irish Brigade prepared to move through the streets of Fredericksburg and attack the Confederate positions beyond the town...

]]>It was just past 9am on 13th December 1862 when Private William Dehaven of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry was given the order to fall in with the men of his regiment. He and the rest of the Irish Brigade prepared to move through the streets of Fredericksburg and attack the Confederate positions beyond the town on Marye’s Heights. It would be a long wait. For three hours William and his company stood in position as Confederate shot and shell screamed over their heads and into the city. They were not the first to attack the enemy position, and it was clear from the stream of wounded coming from the front that the assault was not going well. William had not seen this type of battle before, and the horrendous injuries he was now witnessing began to affect him. A maimed German soldier was wheeled past in a barrow with his legs dangling over the side. Although he was calmly smoking a pipe, William could not tear his eyes away from the fact that one of his feet had been shot off, with blood pouring from the stump. The shock of the sight caused the young private to collapse to the ground, and he did not recover his senses for some minutes. When he did so he found the 116th had moved out, in the direction of the fighting. Despite what he had seen, and the terror he must have felt, William Dehaven did not choose to hide or run away. He picked up his weapon and ran after his comrades, onto what was fast becoming one of the most horrendous fields of slaughter of the entire war. It was to be the first of many acts of bravery by a man of the 116th Pennsylvania Regiment that day (1).

Confederate Dead at the Stone Wall, Marye's Heights, Fredericksburg. Although taken in 1863, it was this same wall that was the object of the 116th Pennsylvania attack on 13th December 1862.

The 116th Pennsylvania had not been in a major battle before; Fredericksburg was to prove a merciless introduction. As the attack of French’s Division petered out, the 116th and the rest of Hancock’s Division were ordered into the meat grinder. All the men placed a sprig of green boxwood in their caps, to identify them as members of Meagher’s Irish Brigade. The regiment marched down towards Liberty Town near the junction of George Street and Hanover Street, where they and the rest of the Brigade paused to await the advance (2). While stationary they began to take their first serious casualties. A shell impacted amongst the ranks of the 88th New York, causing a staggering 18 casualties. Soon after, the first deadly projectile thundered into the ranks of the Pennsylvanians. Four men were killed, amongst them Sergeant John Marley. His head was shorn off, his lifeless and headless body dropping to its knees, musket still in hand. The 116th’s commander, Colonel Dennis Heenan, also took a wound in the hand (3). As the shells rained in Private William McCarter of the 116th remembered that he and the other men began to involuntarily duck, paying ‘due respect in the way of a low bow or curtsy, having no desire whatever to make a closer acquaintance with the flying messenger or to interrupt him in his course‘(4). The order for the men to advance seemed to take an eternity as they stood and endured the fire from the Confederate batteries. At last it came. Lieutenant-Colonel St. Clair A. Mulholland shouted out the words everyone hoped to hear: ‘Attention! Shoulder arms, forward, double-quick. Now, men, steady, and do your duty. March’ (5).

The 116th Pennsylvania emerged in column of fours into the open space beyond the town and saw the scale of what faced them. A raging inferno of fire was concentrated on the fields in front. They had to first negotiate a canal before advancing against Marye’s Heights across an open, exposed plain towards Confederate positions bristling with artillery. In addition, the base of the Heights was defended by troops sheltering behind a stone wall, a position which would soon become infamous. Confederate artilleryman Edward Porter Alexander boasted that ‘a chicken could not live on that field when we open on it’.

The canal was the first obstacle to face the 116th. The bridge which had traversed it had been largely shot away, so some men plunged into the water while others tried to negotiate the surviving fragments of the original span. Casualties continued to mount, amongst them Lieutenant Robert Montgomery of Company I who fell mortally wounded into the stream. A slight rise beyond the water allowed the Pennsylvanian’s to take momentary cover and form line of battle. They initially found themselves on the extreme left of the Irish Brigade line as they advanced towards the Rebel positions. Just as they moved out they sustained yet another casualty among their officers; Lieutenant Seneca G. Willauer was hit by a shell that tore all the flesh from his thigh, exposing the bone. Incredibly, he went to his Colonel, remarking: ‘do you think that I should go on with my company or go to the hospital?’. The regiment pressed on once more: ‘Right shoulder, shift arms, battalion forward, guide centre, march’ (6).

Lieutenant Robert T. McGuire, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry. Wounded at Fredericksburg, he died of his wounds some years later.

A series of fields lay between the Brigade and the enemy behind the stone wall. As St. Clair A. Mulholland described it, the men ‘advanced into an arc of fire….fire in front, on the right and left. Shells came directly and obliquely, and dropped down from above. Shells enfiladed the lines, burst in front, in rear, above and behind; shells everywhere. A torrent of shells; a blizzard of shot, shell and fire’ (7). When the 116th had finally closed to within some 50 yards of the stone wall, they were greeted with a stomach churning sight. Private McCarter remembered: ‘Cobb’s solid brigade of Rebel infantry, said to have been 2,400 strong, suddenly sprang up from behind it. They had been entirely concealed from our view until that moment. The Rebs poured volley after volley into our faces, at once stopping our further progress…It was simply madness to advance as far as we did and an utter impossibility to go further (8). Officers and men were falling like skittles. Lieutenant Garret Nowlan of Company C took a bullet in the thigh. Major Bardwell was also wounded, and Lieutenant Bob McGuire and Captain John O’Neill both fell with balls through their lungs. The Orderly Sergeant of Company H wheeled around to stare at Lieutenant Francis Quinlan, blood pouring from a hole in his forehead all over the young officer’s face. Huge gaps were torn in the 116th line as they withstood the incredible fire. Colonel Heenan was wounded again and carried from the field. Lieutenant-Colonel Mulholland was hit. No officer seemed to escape the murderous fire. Private McCarter stayed in position and had discharged six or seven shots when his turn came. He had begun to ram home his cartridge when ‘a bullet struck me in the uplifted arm, close up to the shoulder. The limb dropped powerless at my side. I knew something serious had happened to me.’ Color Sergeant William Tyrell fell to one knee when his other leg was shattered, but continued to defiantly wave the flag. He was hit a further five times and fell with the broken flagstaff. Finally the order came to retire, and Lieutenant Quinlan dashed forward to rescue the colors from the death grip of Tyrell (9).

Lieutenant Christian Foltz, 116th Pennsylvania. Killed while trying to assist his wounded friend William McCarter near the Stone Wall.

As the retreat began, Lieutenant Foltz looked to help his friend William McCarter from the field: ‘Bill, we’ve got to get. Are you badly hurt? I wish to God I could get you out of here.’. Foltz then grabbed McCarter’s musket and took aim, saying to him ‘Bill, I see the bastard that laid you there. I’ll fetch him.’ McCarter remembered: ‘he knelt down on the ground with his left knee, placed the butt end of the musket upon his shoulder, and took deliberate aim at something in the direction of the stone wall. I watched him closely. Before he pulled the trigger the musket fell out of his grasp. He nervously raised his hand to his brow and then fell to the earth a bleeding corpse, pierced through the head by a rebel bullet. His face was towards me, revealing the fatal wound immediately above the left eye. The profound sorrow that I then experienced no tongue or pen could describe’ (10).

Though the 116th Pennsylvania and the Irish Brigade retreated they did not quit the field, and further waves of Union infantry passed over them to dash themselves into pieces against the stone wall. Wounded men were forced to spend all night on the field where they had fallen. The assault at Marye’s Heights on the Confederate left had been seen as a necessity to give the Federal attack on the Confederate right a chance at success. The tactic did not work, and the Army of the Potomac was forced into a retreat. What the attack did achieve was the wholesale destruction of thousands of lives; the Irish Brigade was decimated and would never again recover its pre-Fredericksburg strength. Irish opinion would begin to turn against the war as a result of the terrible casualties inflicted upon it. William Dehaven, William McCarter and St. Clair A. Mulholland all survived the maelstrom at Fredericksburg and the war. However, the horrors they witnessed that December afternoon must surely have never been far from their thoughts for the remainder of their lives.

Winfield Scott Hancock paid tribute to the 116th Pennsylvania in his report on Fredericksburg. He noted that the ‘regiment suffered heavily, and, although comparatively young in the service, behaved handsomely. This regiment marched on the field with 17 commissioned officers and 230 enlisted men. Its loss was 12 officers wounded and 77 men killed, wounded, and missing. The fourth officer in command during the battle brought the regiment off the field, the others being disabled.’ (11)

St. Clair A. Mulholland lists the following men of the regiment in the Roll of Honor as having been killed or who died of wounds received at Fredericksburg: